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With so much variety in MMO choices floating about the internet, it’s pretty hard to choose one that satisfies all of one’s desires and expectations. There many ways that MMOs allow players to play, and different ways to make them pay. One of the oldest types of MMOs are pay-to-play, one that players cannot access without first paying a subscription fee for a certain number of days, usually lasting at least a month. World of Warcraft is one such game, wherein players had to first buy the game itself, and then pay for the time to play. Not only did this money pay the paychecks of everyone involved, but also helped fund special events that players could enjoy from time to time. The next type of MMO is a free-to-play. This type is best for players who cannot afford to buy a game and then pay for a subscription, but the sacrifice is that the game doesn’t usually hold any special events, so there is only the content provided for enjoyment. These games do still make money, though it is through a cash shop which allows players to buy fancy, and otherwise frivolous things to make their characters pretty or in some way “better”. A good example of this game is Perfect World International, which can be downloaded and played without spending a dime, but has a lot of tempting pretties in the cash shop that will leave many gamers penniless. One game in particular has come up with an interesting method of generating income. Star Wars: The Old Republic started out being a pay-to-play, but became free-to-play later on. Unlike other free-to-play games, though, this game offers an optional subscription to players in order to receive faster level-up as well as other perks that free-to-play players cannot access without unlocking them in the cash shop. So basically, The Old Republic has combined the two methods into a hybrid, resulting in both subscribed and free players in the same game. A few other MMOs have had the same idea, like DC Universe Online, which also started out as pay-to-play and then became free-to-play.
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